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| (Solved) Laptop Caddy connector identification. Getac, Roda and Itronix laptops |
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| Fraser:
ECMbuster, Thanks for the pictures. I would love the ribbon cable but think you should hold onto it for the moment in case it can be used after some modification :) If you definitely do not need it I will happily pay the postage etc. Regarding your present configuration, the standard response to getting a hard drive or SSD into these caddyless Roda Rocky, or other laptops for that matter, is to buy the very inexpensive PATA CD-ROM to SATA HDD/SSD adapters. My four new Roda Rocky RT886 units were provided with such an adapter when purchased. To use it you have to give up your internal CD/DVD drive, remove the Optical drive from the Roda optical bay caddy and install the hard disk/SSD in the optical drive bay using the adapter. It is seen as a bootable PATA drive on the Slave channel in BIOS. A blanking ‘box’ or plate can be made to fill the HDD caddy hole if desired. An external USB CD/DVD drive is both cheap and easy to connect when needed. These laptops were never intended to be an ‘Ultralight’ so the additional weight in the carry bag is of little consequence ;D I attach a picture of an example optical bay adapter but you should check which IDE connector your CD/DVD has on its rear inside the Roda Optical drive caddy. It is normally a compact connector and not a conventional IDE 40 or 44 pin type. The optical bay adapters take a common SATA 2.5” Drive and convert it to an IDE type for the host computer. These adapters were costing me less than $10 for SATA to SATA and around $15 for SATA to PATA |
| Ecmbuster:
I should have though of that, both the Dell E4300 and the 3 D630's working computers have that tray to add the extra storage needed for work, documents and images and installers. Great idea. I'll steal one out of the working models and see how that works with a fresh installation. Update - The caddy was removed from the RODA and found a large sticker, "defekt" and suppose in the German language. The CD ROM does not come out of the caddy but the pins at the edge of the caddy are 80 pins (wipe contacts). There has to be a way to remove the CD ROM or go back to plan A. |
| Fraser:
I will look at my optical drive. The drive is definitely removable from the caddy. Fraser |
| Fraser:
Well that is an unexpected surprise ! Roda have clearly decided that users should not be able to change the optical drive easily without buying the complete unit from them, rather than a 3rd party ! The Optical drive looks to be standard but the plastic caddy does not have the usual screws at the rear to release the optical drive. It would appear that the optical drive is installed and then the top cover of the caddy is glued into place. Roda used glue on the hard disk caddy as well :( The glue is actually a plastic solvent so it is very hard to break the ‘bond’. Some minor plastics damage is inevitable. So you have an optical drive caddy that appears to contain a faulty optical drive........ you are going to have to open that caddy if you want to replace the faulty optical drive or use a hard disk adapter as we discussed. The lid of the caddy is quite thin plastic and could be opened in sections to to access the drive securing screws and cable within. I would consider cutting away a rear section of the caddy’s lid first to see if that is enough to remove the optical drive. Removing the whole cover may prove possible but you risk more plastics damage in the process. Much depends upon how well it is glued and in how many places. I cannot see any screw mounts above or below the optical drive so suspect it is held by just the usual rear bracket design found in laptops. I would use a box cutter knife with a brand new blade for this task and take great care not to go too quickly as that can lead to accidents to the caddy or your hands ! Some pictures added for clarity. The rear section of the caddy lid that I would remove and the common rear screw retainer points on an optical drive. Fraser |
| Ecmbuster:
The optical drive replacement may work out but have a portable USB style that is used from time to time to perform installations and updates. At this point, the best solution would be yours, to adapt a connection to the hard drive connection into the RODA and test an installation. Let me know how your tests move forward. It may be the most logical course. |
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